Congressman: ‘The Only Colors American Military Ought to Salute Are Red, White, and Blue’
Veterans, active duty, and Republicans alike have spoken against the replacement of the American flag with a Pride flag at a Mississippi veterans cemetery. The nation’s flag (which represents liberty and justice for all) was replaced, leaders argued, by a flag representing liberty and justice only for those who align with woke ideologies.
“We don’t need a flag for each nationality or each different group of people,” Vietnam War veteran Richard Boyanton stated. “The American flag represents everyone.” But as Pride Month continues, the flying of the Pride flag in the veteran’s cemetery is not an isolated event one can brush over and move on from. On June 7, the U.S. Air Force tweeted a graphic of an officer saluting the Pride flag. Representative Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) stated in response, “The only colors American military ought to salute are red, white, and blue.”
In protest, a group of Mississippi Republicans came together to write a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough who approved the flying of the Pride flag. They wrote: “Replacing the United States flag with a flag that promotes particular sexual or gender identity goes against the very mission of our national cemeteries. … Our veterans expect the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide services, not promote controversial ideologies.”
The letter continued, “We believe this decision shows deep disrespect to our service members, veterans, and their families, and demand that you take immediate action to restore the United States flag to its rightful place at Veterans Affairs facilities across the state of Mississippi.”
Briana Oser wrote in an article for The Washington Examiner, “What did these men and women die for? Certainly not for the anti-American movement the LGBT pride flag now stands for. Not even for gay rights,” she said. “The noble veterans buried in the Biloxi National Cemetery, despite differences in race, sexuality, and age, were united by a common mission: to protect our country.”
In comment to The Washington Stand, an intern at Family Research Council made a statement on what it means for him to serve in the military and why the Pride flag has no place to fly alongside (or in lieu of) the American flag. “These actions of members of the United States government are a betrayal to those who served; this includes both those alive and those who died,” he said. “A government that blatantly betrays and attacks the values of many men and women who serve is playing a game of Russian Roulette with the security of the country.”
When asked how one can respond in faith to the matter at hand, he added, “My oath, as a promise before the Maker of Heaven and Earth, bonds me in my love for man and country to continue to protect all Americans including those who advocate for the very use of the LGBT flag to stand in for the American flag. I love my countrymen and wish to serve all of them so that they will have the opportunity, in safety, to hear and learn the greatest message of love — the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the eternal salvation emanating from this, His ultimate act of service.”
